Killer caregiver
The short and brutal life of Malachi Subecz
WARNING: This story contains details of child abuse which readers may find distressing.
The woman who had interim custody of Tauranga boy Malachi Subecz subjected him to daily assaults before his death in November.
This included being picked up off the ground by his hair, thrown into walls, and having his head held underwater when in the bath.
Malachi was found with injuries at a Te Puna property on November 1, was treated in Tauranga Hospital and later airlifted to Starship Hospital in Auckland, where he died on November 12.
The day Malachi died he weighed 16kg, the same weight recorded at a medical appointment when he was 3 years old.
Michaela Barriball, 27, pleaded guilty to four charges related to his death at the High Court in Tauranga last Wednesday.
She was convicted on a charge of murder, injuring with intent to injure, and failing her legal duty to care for someone under the age of 18.
She was also convicted for injuring with intent to injure and intentionally causing suffering, namely physical and verbal abuse, failing to provide medical assistance, and causing him to be malnourished.
Malachi was put into Barriball’s care in June 2021, when his biological mother was imprisoned, the summary of facts states. Barriball lived in a relocatable cabin with Malachi on the family’s Te Puna property. The cabin had power but no running water, so they showered and ate inside the main house.
On the day Malachi was fatally injured, November 1, Barriball inflicted multiple blunt force injuries to Malachi’s head before carrying him into the main house around 8.27am, unconscious and suffering seizures. She and her father attempted to revive him before lying him on the couch and calling an ambulance.
She initially said Malachi had fallen over while getting ready for school. The ambulance arrived to Malachi flailing on the couch. His left eye was found to be fixed and dilated, a sign of traumatic brain injury.
He was taken to Tauranga Hospital, before being airlifted to Starship Hospital where he had emergency surgery and was placed into an induced coma. On November 10 he was extubated, and he died on November 12. An autopsy found the cause of death to be blunt force head injury.
The abuse begins
Malachi suffered daily assaults by Barriball, who was receiving a benefit to look after him, the summary states. The abuse included slapping him in the face, head and body, and pushing him into walls and on to the ground. If others at the property tried to intervene, Barriball blocked them, saying she was the parent and didn’t care what they thought.
Malachi would tell Barriball he didn’t want to live there, and began soiling himself.
He was punished by being stripped to his underwear and locked outside.
Barriball was temporarily appointed as an additional guardian for Malachi in the Tauranga Family Court on September 13, the summary says. She was resisting custody applications by Malachi’s biological family and a full hearing was due on November 1 – the day Malachi was found injured.
On September 24, Barriball took Malachi to Te Puna Primary school for the first and only time. He was scheduled to start school on October 18. After Malachi’s 5th birthday on September 28,
Barriball grabbed him by the back of his head, picked him up off the ground by his hair and threw him into a wall twice. She then repeatedly struck him in the face.
On October 12, Barriball sent her partner a series of messages which included being concerned she was going to kill Malachi.
Police and ambulance were not called. The abuse continued with Barriball holding Malachi’s head under the bath water with his mouth and nose fully submerged.
When Barriball took Malachi to a Tauranga daycare she would make sure his hair covered signs of multiple blunt force injuries on his forehead. The injuries resulted in Malachi having a cluster of bruises under his chin, a scratch on his left jaw, large swelling on his forehead and a blackening left eye.
She told the staff that Malachi had fallen off his bike and fallen during the weekend, but Malachi said he hadn’t. Daycare staff reported Malachi was a normal child, was not accident-prone, and was toilet trained.
School term starts
On October 18, the first day of the school term, Malachi wasn’t taken to school. Sometime in the morning he soiled himself. Barriball growled at him, and put him in the shower under hot water which has been measured at 73 degrees.
Malachi suffered burns to his shoulder, abdomen, and forehead. Barriball once again messaged her partner, saying she didn’t know what to do for Malachi.
‘‘I can’t take him to hospital they gonna think I beat him and I don’t even touch him.’’
During this time, Barriball made excuses to Malachi’s mother about why they couldn’t video call her, allowing her phone calls only. His mother was told her son was still attending day care and everything was going well.
Malachi’s clothes removed
On November 1, when police were going to search Barriball’s cabin, her sister Sharron got her teenage daughter to clear out his clothes.
‘‘You gotta get in the cabin and get everything out even Malachi’s dirty washing basket and any of his clothes that are laying around go fast cos cops are coming at 3.15pm,’’ she wrote in a message.
Sharron sent two further messages to her father and daughter about collecting Malachi’s clothes.
Sharron’s daughter had moved items into the main house by the time the police arrived at 3.20pm, and told police her aunty and mother had told her to do it.
Police found Malachi’s pyjama bottoms wet on top of the washing machine, and a search days later uncovered a suitcase of clothing, including a torn and bloodied pyjama top.
Barriball told police she had a great bond with Malachi, and he had been attending school since his 5th birthday. She claimed his injuries were because he had fallen backwards, landing on his head, while reaching for something on the top of a set of drawers.
Apart from a graze on his forehead from trick-or-treating the night before, she hadn’t noticed any injuries or scars. Barriball gave different excuses for Malachi’s injuries to police, her father, partner and sister.
Once police arrived at Tauranga Hospital, Barriball sent messages to her partner.
‘‘So bub if I go to prison I’m very sorry for that ok. But you move on okay don’t wait for me to come out.’’
Barriball’s sister, Sharron Barriball, 37, has been convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice. She stated that she had been messaging for a cannabis bong to be removed from the cabin. Both sisters will be sentenced in Rotorua on June 30.